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(No Model.) 2Sheets-Sheef 2. A. REESE.

. I GAR BRAKE.

Patented Feb. 7-,1-88 8.

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' especially to that class in which the brakes as may be desired, by the backward movement ABRAM nnnsn, or rIrTsBURe, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIcnoR TO THE nnnsn SAFETY BRAKE COMPANY, ,(LIMITED,) on sA n PLACE-v v CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 377,437, d ate d February 7, 1888. j

Application filed May 12,1887. Serial naaawar. (No model.) i r To all whom it 'may concern.-

Be'it known that I, ABRAM REESE, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Oar-Brakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof." J

My invention relates to car-brakes, and more are applied by the impact of the preceding car or locomotive forcing backward the drawhead or buffers to which the brake-levers are connected. In thisiclass of brakes as hereto fore constructed great difficulty has been found in applying the brakes effectively, as the force of thebufl'er and draw bar springs, together with the momentum of the train, has been more than the resistance offered by the impact of the locomotive when brought to a stop could overcome; hence the springs would bebut slightly compressed and the draw-bars or buffer-bars" moved backward an amount insufficient to properly apply the brakes. Any attempt to weaken the bufl'er or draw bar spring would manifestly result disastrously to the cars, as then the shock of the cars on each cther,being but slightly taken up by the spring, would cause a very rapid deterioration of the rollingstock. To avoid this'difficultyof securing a proper amount of'movement of the draw-bars or buffers to apply the brakes effectively, and at the same timewithout weakening the buffer or draw bar springs, is the primary object of my invention, as well as to so arrange the brake mechanism that each car is independent so far as its brake mechanism is concerned, and that the brakes may be applied or not,

of the train.

To these ends the invention consists, generally, in a draw-head having a draw-bar or extension attached thereto, two springs coiled around said draw-bar, one of which projects beyond the other and bears against the drawhead, and a brakeoperating lever in the rear of said draw-bar and operated by the backward thrust of the same.

The invention also consists in having coiled around the draw-bar two springs, the outer one of which bears" at its ends against the figures of the drawings.

front and rear follower-plate, and the inner spring projects through and beyond the front i against thedraw-head and at its rear end against the rear follower-p1ate and connections the same will be applied'by the movement of the draw-head. k

The invention further consists in interpos ing between the draw-bar and the brak -opcrating levers avertically-sliding block ch when in one position transmits the backward thrust of the draw-bar to the brake-levers and follower-plate and bears at its forward end l causes the brakes to be applied, andiin the other position permits said draw-bar .to recede without affecting the brakes; and the invention further consists in means for raising and lowering this intermediate block'into position; and the invention also consists in certain other,

improvenients, all'of which -are more-fully hereinafter set forth.

To enable-others skilled in and use-my invention, '1 will describe the. same,

referring to the accompanying drawings,- in

which-- v Figure 1 shows a top plan view of my im- NITED STATES PATENT OF I E 7 55 between said draw-bar and the brakes, so that backward the art to make proved brake as appliedto one end of' a car.-

Fig; 2 is a side view of the same; Fig. 3, a view of the under side of the car with the brake applied thereto, and Fig. 4- ,is a central verti cal section of the same.

Likeletters refer to like Sliding in suitable guides in the frame a of the car-body is the draw-head b, to therear end of which is rigidly secured the draw-bar '0,

parts in each of the which passes throughopenings in the front 5 and rear follower -plates, (1 e, a pin or key, f,

the end thereof, to throw the pressure on the rear follower-plate when thepull is fon' 'thefdraw-bar.

Interposed between the front follower-plate being insertedin ayslot in the draw-bar, near lh, being preferably a little weaker than the outer spring and extending at its forward end beyond and through the enlargedopening in "too inch, so as to bear against the rear end of the draw-head b, and thus permit the compression of this inner spring by the backward movement of the draw-head through this one inch, or other suitable distance, before it is necessary to compress the outer spring, 9. Pivoted to a suitable support, '5, on the car-frame a, in the rear of the draw bar 0, is the brake-operating lever j, one end of which is connected to the brakes, as hereinafter described, and the other end having therein a notch or socket,j',

in which and against the lever bears the end of the bar k, which slides in suitable guides on the car-frame, or in a passage formed in the supportj. This bar It is in a line with the draw-bar 0, but is not of sufficient length to impinge on the rear end of the draw-bar, the intervening space being taken up by a filling piece or block, Z, which is of a width just sufficient to form a continuous bar with the drawbar 0 and the sliding rod kfro m the draw-head b to the brake-operating lever j. To permit the draw-bar to recede at times without afi'ecting the brake-lever, the intervening block or fillin piece Z is provided with a recess, m, Fig. in which, when the block Z is raised (or lowered,) vertically in suitable guides to bring this recess in line with the draw-bar, the latter can have sufficient room to move backward without impinging on the block Z, which is sufficiently wide to give a recess of ample depth for this purpose. To facilitate the raising and lowering of this block Z, a lever, a, is pivoted to a suitable hanger, 0, on the under side of the car-frame, one end of the lever being enlarged at p to support the block Z at its lower end, the other end of the lever extending out toward the end of the car and having attached to it a rod, q, which may extend up along the end of the car-body to the top, so as to be accessible, and is provided with a suitable catch for maintaining the lever in the position in which it is placed. The form of catch shown in Fig. 4 is well adapted for this purpose. In that catch the vertical rod q is made of spring metal, which has atendency to press away from the car-body, and has therein a number of holes which engage a pin, 7', Fig. 4, secured to a guide, 8, on the car-frame, through which the rod g passes. As the tendency of the spring-rod q is to fly outward, the rod, when lifted to lower the block Z, or vice versa, will always automatically engage the pin 1' as soon as released.

The operating-leverj, heretofore described, is connected by a rod, t,with a lever, u,which in turn is connected by suitable connection with the brake-shoe bar 0. A spring, to, is placed between the two parts of the connecting-rod t, to take up any excessive amount of power applied to the brake-lever j by the backward movement of the draw-head, and thus prevent the locking of the wheels by too great a grip of the brake-shoes on the periphcry of the wheels, which would cause the unequal wearing of the latter and increase the expense of turning them to shape.

The operation of the brake is as follows: When the locomotive or preceding car is brought to a stop or slowed up, its impact on the draw'head of the succeeding car will cause the draw-head to compress the inner spring, h, and as the amount of power required to compress this spring alone is not great the drawhead continues to move backward under this impulse until it strikes against the front follower-plate, d,when any further movement is resisted by the combined force of the inner and outer springs, which are fully equal to the standard spring heretofore used, and thus the ability of the draw-bar springs to take up the shock on the draw'head at any time is not weakened or changed. During this backward movement of the draw-head the draw-bar forces the rod backward, the. block Z being lowered so as to present its full width to the draw-bar, and thus fill the intervening space between the latter and the bar It, the backward movement of which cauts the lever j, so that the brakes are applied to the wheels of the car. The extent of backward movement necessary to bring the draw-head in contact with the front follower-plate is suff cient to effectively apply the brakes, and any further movement or shock on the drawhead being taken up by the springs h g and the spring w, as heretofore described. The brake is of course released as soon as the pressure on the draw-head is withdrawn,as the springs h and g return the latter to its normal position. When it is not necessary to applythe brakes and the train is to be backed, the rodq is lowered,so as to raise the block Z until the recess m therein is opposite the end of the draw-bar, when the brakes will remain passive as the end of the draw-bar recedes in the recess m on the backward movement of the draw-head without impinging on the block Z and operating brake-lever j.

The arrangement heretofore described in connection with a draw-head and draw-bar may be similarly applied to the buffer and buffer-springs.

This construction of brake is one which can be readily applied by the impact of one car on the other. At the same the springs used to take up-the shocks on the draw-head are not reduced in strength or efficiency. Further, the changes required in the present form of carirons are but slight, and the brakes can therefore be applied to existing cars at a very small expense, and when applied each car is complete in itself, so far as its brake mechanism is concerned, and it is not necessary that the other cars of the train should be similarly equipped.

Having now described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a car-brake, the combination of a drawhead with a draw-bar or extension attached thereto, two springs coiled around said drawbar, one of which is longer than the other and bears against the draw-head, and a brake-lever in the rear of the draw-bar and operated a draw-bar or extension attached thereto, a

spring hearing at each'end against a followerplate, and another spring one end of which bears against the rear follower-plate and the other end projects beyond the other spring and bears agains't the draw-head, anda brake and connection between said draw-bar and brake, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a'draw-head or buffer having a draw-bar or extension attached thereto, a brake-operating lever, and a fillingblock'having a recess therein and sliding between the end ofsaid draw-bar and the brakeoperating lever, substantially as described.

4. In a car-brake,-the combination of a drawhead or buffer having an extension attached thereto, a brakeoperating lever, and con-' nections between said lever and the brakes, with a vertically-sliding filling-block between said draw-bar and brake-operating lever, and

\ a vertically-movable support for said fillingblock,on which thesame rests, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. 1 t

5. In a carbrake, the combination of a spring-backed draw-head or buffer, b, having headhavi'n'g a draw-bar or extension attached o thereto, aspring bearing at each end against a follower-plate, and another spring oneendv of which bears against the rear follower-plate'" and atthe other end projects beyondthe other Q spring and bears against the draw-head, a 45 brake-operating lever, and a movable filling;

block between the draw-bar and the brakelever, substantially as and for thepurposes set I forth. 7 K v 7. In a Carbrake, the combination of adraw- 5o head having a draw-bar or extension attached thereto, a filling-block sliding in guides across the Path of the end of said draw-bar, and a j we lever on which saidblock rests for supporting theblock. in position, substantially as .de- 50 scribed.

In testimony whereof I, the said ABRAM REEsE, have hereunto set'm'y hand.

. ABRAM REESEJ Witnesses:

J. 'NEGLEY COOKE, f N. S. STOOKWELL. 

